The present invention relates to a camera of a composite camera mainly used as a surveillance camera.
In a system that keeps watch in buildings or watch in shops such as a pinball house, a bookstore and the like, a composite camera as shown in FIG. 6 has been conventionally used well.
The aforesaid composite camera is also referred to as a dome camera, in which a camera body (not shown) is housed in a camera box b attached onto a ceiling or the like through a camera base a so that it can turn and swing. A camera cover c made of metal and formed hemispherically covers the camera body from the underside, and the camera cover c has a shield function of hiding an inside electric circuit and simultaneously preventing unnecessary radiation produced from the electric circuit from being emitted outside.
Further, in the camera cover c, a circular arc-shaped opening e from which a lens d of the camera body protrudes is formed, and the camera cover c is covered with a hemispherical transparent cover f attached to an opening portion of the camera box b.
In the thus structured composite camera, while the camera body is turning at an angle of 360 degrees according to instructions from a surveillant center, it simultaneously swings up and down nearly at an angle of 90 degrees to take pictures of every corner in the room or in the shop and send the video pictures to the surveillant center. When the camera body turns, the camera cover c also turns in the horizontal direction as shown in FIG. 7A. Further, when the camera body swings up and down, it swings up and down in the opening e of the camera cover c as shown in FIG. 7A.
However, the aforesaid composite camera in which the camera body swings up and down at the angle of 90 degrees requires, after the camera body was swung downward and the lens d was moved from A point to B point to take pictures, in case that pictures are taken from A point to B point on the opposite side to the previous side, an operation of swinging the camera body upward while the camera body is being turned at an angle of 180 degrees thereby to return the lens d to the A point. Therefore, it takes some times to take pictures on the opposite side, so that there is a disadvantage that this camera cannot correspond to an emergency.
In order to solve this disadvantage, a composite camera in which a camera body can swing up and down at an angle of 180 degrees is put to practical use.
In this composite camera, in order to swing the lens d of the camera body at the angle of 180 degrees, a circular arc-shaped opening exe2x80x2 is formed in the camera cover c nearly over the angle of 180 degrees in the vertical direction as shown in FIG. 7B. After the camera body was swung up and down at an angle of 90 degrees and pictures from the A point to the B point were obtained, in case that pictures on the opposite side are required, the camera body is further swung upward and the lens d is moved from the B point to C point, whereby the pictures on the opposite side are obtained without turning the camera body. Therefore, this camera can correspond also to an emergency quickly.
However, in case that the circular arc-shaped opening g was formed in the camera cover c nearly over the angle of 180 degrees, rigidity of the camera cover c decreased, and the camera cover c was deformed by pressure received from parts to which the camera cover c is attached, so that the camera cover c interfered with means for turning and swinging the camera body and with the transparent cover f for covering the camera cover c, whereby there were disadvantages that the camera body could not turn and swing smoothly, the interfering parts were broken, and the like.
This invention has been made in order to improve the above conventional disadvantages, and its object is to provide at a low price a composite camera that can provide an opening nearly over an angle of 180 degrees without decreasing the rigidity of the camera cover.
In order to achieve the aforesaid object, a composite camera according to the invention is a composite camera having the following constitution (1): In a composite camera in which a camera body is housed in a camera box attached onto a ceiling or the like through a camera base so that it can turn and swing up and down, and the aforesaid camera body is covered with a hemispherical camera cover having an opening from which a lens of the camera body protrudes, the aforesaid camera cover is composed of a cylindrical portion, a hemispherical portion and a reinforcing step portion that connects these cylindrical portion and hemispherical portion.
According to the above constitution (1), ring-shaped edges are formed at boundaries between the cylindrical portion and the reinforcing step portion and between the reinforcing step portion and the hemispherical portion. Resultantly, the lateral rigidity of the camera cover is improved by these edges, and when the camera cover is attached so as to cover the camera body, it does not deform even upon reception of the lateral external forces from attaching parts. Therefore, in case that this camera is used as a surveillant camera, the camera cover does not interfere with a turning means, a swinging means, a transparent cover, and the like.
In order to achieve the aforesaid object, the composite camera of the invention is a composite camera according to the first aspect (1) of the invention, in which (2) both ends of the opening formed in the hemispherical portion of the aforesaid camera cover are bent inward thereby to form turnups at the both ends of the opening.
According to the above constitution (2), edges are formed at bending portions of the turnups and the rigidity of the hemispherical portion increases. Therefore, even in case that the opening is formed in the hemispherical portion nearly over a semicircle, it is possible to hold down the decrease of the rigidity of the hemispherical portion to the minimum.
In order to achieve the aforesaid object, the composite camera of the invention is a composite camera according to the first aspect (1) or the second aspect (2) of the invention, in which (3) the aforesaid camera cover is formed integrally by press-molding a metal plate.
According to the above constitution (3), the camera cover can be manufactured readily and at a low price, and it can be made lighter. Therefore, this camera can correspond also to high-speed turn.